The metabolism of travel changed more in the last century than in the
previous half-millennium, a stunning transformation triggered by
American wanderlust. In less than 100 years, the U.S. mass-produced
the automobile, invented airplanes, freeways, motels, even sent men to
the Moon. Travel grew ever faster and easier. Above all, it was
democratized — enabling millions to explore distant lands, or see their
own more fully.

At the start of the 20th century, only people
with extensive disposable income and time to spare could enjoy leisure
travel. By the century’s end, journeys took hours, not days, and mass
travel — especially brief air flights — became the new normal. Along the
way, ocean liners broke speed records, aerodynamic trains roared down
the tracks, stylish boat-plane clippers evolved into jumbo jets. Whether
aboard high-speed locomotives or ships, jets or Greyhound buses — or
when setting their own schedule on the open road — Americans demanded
ever greater mobility and wider choice of destinations, thereby setting a
new standard for travelers around the world.A lush
visual history of this national wanderlust, this volume features
400-plus print advertisements from the Jim Heimann Collection, which
illustrate the evolution of leisure travel — from domestic to global,
exclusive to popular, exotic to standardized — and its crucial role in
American culture.

With an introduction, decade-by-decade
analysis, and an illustrated timeline, this book highlights the
cultural and technological developments that transformed travel from a
cushioned journey of the elite into a convenient leisure pastime for the
general public. 20th Century Travel takes us on a grand tour of travel’s golden age.